RichNhansom wrote:rjdriver : "I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses."

All of them? All their loss's? I could see saying he replaces Manningham and would even buy he might be an upgrade but what about Moss? And the fact Crabtree will be the only returning starter from last year.

Delanie walker was used alot in their two TE sets and moved on because he wants to be a starter. Alot of members here wanted him on the hawks. He's not a giant loss in himself but take away Moss and Manningham also and I don't see how Boldin makes it an even swap.

Kaepernick will only have two guys from last year catching pass's in Crabtree and VD. Boldin's not "that" good. Kaep will also need to learn how to use Boldin. He is not fast but he is strong. If you can place the ball properly Boldin will win most of those battles but it is not as simple as it sounds and unlike Crabtree who gets separation and is visible when he is open, Boldin rely's on the QB to place the ball were he can fight for it. By the way if he is going up against Sherman that ball placement had better be excellent and if he is going up against Browner, please try and let Boldin fight it away from him. That won't work so well. Bowner can out muscle him and Sherman can out maneuver him.

Last time he played against those guys Boldin had two catch's for 22 yards.

Defensively their front 7 was what kept that machine rolling and hid the fact they were pretty weak in the secondary. Now they lost their NT and his back up. Again, might not normally be a big loss but they don't have a replacement on the team right now that can play the NT position. Add in that Justin Smith is coming off injury and is turning 34 in September. Consider whoever they get to play NT will take some time to get familiar with their schemes and how will that effect Justin Smith?

Now figure if that font seven takes a step back, how will that effect the secondary? Then remove the only probowler in the secondary from that equation. How good do you think Boldin is?

Yes they have 14 picks but last year was the first year that Balke was on his own as well as the first year in many he was picking towards the end of the draft. LMJ I think is the only draft pick that seen the field and AJ Jenkins looks like a horrible miss with zero catch's on the year and not being able to beat out even Ted Ginn for playing time.

If they lose Ted Ginn and it is looking like a real possibility, their return game will also take a big hit. LMJ might be able to step in but it is another unknown and most likely a down grade even if he is decent.

They just signed a new kicker. Do we just automatically assume he is going to be good? Can he boot it into the endzone on kickoffs? What about consistency or long kicks?

Glenn Dorsey might prove to be a good pick up and I am sure they are hoping he is Justin Smith's replacement but again, his track record so far doesn't guarantee success. I was hoping we would make a run at him so I won't lie, I think he has potential but still he is not the answer at NT and even if he does work out, as long as Justin Smith can play, he will be on the field.

Frank Gore also turns 30 May 14th. That is something that could very possibly come into play also.

I like Boldin but he is not the answer to all the questions they have going right now. They still have many other issues staring them directly in the face.

Great points. Many I didn't consider. I agree with them and think we are the best team in the NFL. My whole point was that I understand and even agreed (til seeing these points) how many could consider SF an early favorite. It's their draft I'm worried about guys, everyone seems to dismiss it. I think they can fill some needs with their draft. I'm not on their side, I hate em' , but just trying to be objective. Thanks for the great post though RnH

If any team is prepared to deal with high expectations, its the seahawks. We know the horrible taste of heart breaking defeats all too well. This team is too damn hungry and too damn confident to care anything about expectations.

I've had enough "flying under the radar" business, where has it gotten us? Seattle is now the bully in school that tells you he's going to steal your lunch money, and steal your girlfriend, the does it and there is nothing you can do to stop it!!!! Let the rest of the NFL hate, there is a lot of lunch money and girlfriends to be stolen!

Is this the very first time the seahawks have ever been number one in the power rankings?

"I don't know much, but I imagine that stomping my way through a field of seven-year-olds is the closest I'll ever feel to being Marshawn Lynch. Despite being limited to ten rushes, Lynch mowed through defenders like Zach Efron running into a bachelorette party in Vegas." -@JacsonBevens

strohmin wrote:If any team is prepared to deal with high expectations, its the seahawks. We know the horrible taste of heart breaking defeats all too well. This team is too damn hungry and too damn confident to care anything about expectations.

I have to agree with this statement 100%It seems like Carroll really has these guys focused on the task at handTheir consistency has improved dramatically over the past 3 years and its been apparent in the supposed "head cases" we have taken aboard that have thrived and played very well You can even hear it in the players candid comments on Twitter and other sources that they understand how much they demand from each other and how dedicated they are to the cause.GO HAWKS!

Lady Talon wrote:Why do you think they were close to winning the Superbowl? Even if they scored a touchdown they'd have led by two points (unless they converted a two point conversion) with a minute and a half left against a team with all it's timeouts, a great kicker, and a passing attack that proved it could burn their secondary.

Seahawks proved against Atlanta it was unwise to go up by less then 4 pts with 30 seconds left in the game in the same situation.

Well, regardless of what would have happened, I think leading the Superbowl with 1:30 left can be considered close to winning it.

We were close to winning the Atlanta game. We didn't win, but we were close.

But I digress.

You guys are right. We are head and shoulders better than them. We are in a totally different league than the defending NFC champs. Anybody who thinks they are even competition for us is crazy like me.

Lol I didnt mean to pile on the avalanche on you. It's just amusing because Niner fans dismiss us because of the Atl loss (and they didn't want to play us, even in their own house), then they pretty much barely escaped with a win in Atl, then they lost the Superbowl in similar fashion. Are they dangerous? Yeah. Are they God's gift to football and forever a target the Hawks will never reach? Lol no. Superior? My lily white ass.

Lady Talon wrote:Why do you think they were close to winning the Superbowl? Even if they scored a touchdown they'd have led by two points (unless they converted a two point conversion) with a minute and a half left against a team with all it's timeouts, a great kicker, and a passing attack that proved it could burn their secondary.

Seahawks proved against Atlanta it was unwise to go up by less then 4 pts with 30 seconds left in the game in the same situation.

Well, regardless of what would have happened, I think leading the Superbowl with 1:30 left can be considered close to winning it.

We were close to winning the Atlanta game. We didn't win, but we were close.

But I digress.

You guys are right. We are head and shoulders better than them. We are in a totally different league than the defending NFC champs. Anybody who thinks they are even competition for us is crazy like me.

Lol I didnt mean to pile on the avalanche on you. It's just amusing because Niner fans dismiss us because of the Atl loss (and they didn't want to play us, even in their own house), then they pretty much barely escaped with a win in Atl, then they lost the Superbowl in similar fashion. Are they dangerous? Yeah. Are they God's gift to football and forever a target the Hawks will never reach? Lol no. Superior? My lily white ass.

100% agree. They are the most arrogant fans I know. That's what I love about playing them twice. This is the year we take them in the stick, I know it. For the most part, we don't dismiss them, but they can't get a grasp on past performance doesn't mean squat in this league. They had superior talent when Pete and John blew it up. Last year we caught up. Next year, we will have an opportunity to show we have surpassed them without argument. There will be no need for power polls to figure that out.

Rjdriver I don't mean to come off sounding like I am attacking you. Sorry if I did. I recently read a Niner board out of boardom but I won't post on their boards and so many of them are completely ignoring everything and using the Boldin signing as a reason they are better than last year. It's kind of mind numbing to think fans know so little about their own organization and can be so over the top arrogant at the same time.

The saying "the game is played on the field" goes for every team in the league. IMO it's just a way of saying I don't wanna talk about it. This is the off season so we don't have games to play. Instead those of us that are still craving football want to compare what our organizations are doing to improve our chances and power poles give us some feel of validation that we are not just delusional.

Consider the Seahawks are not one of the NFL's storied franchises. This poll isn't about massaging a fan bases ego. I think we have honestly forced the critics to sit up and pay attention and that is a huge accomplishment.

Sorry if I was to aggressive. I think I just told you some of the things I want to tell Niner fans but you know I would kicked off any of their boards for that post and it would just be deleted in less time than it took me to write it.

Lady Talon wrote:Why do you think they were close to winning the Superbowl? Even if they scored a touchdown they'd have led by two points (unless they converted a two point conversion) with a minute and a half left against a team with all it's timeouts, a great kicker, and a passing attack that proved it could burn their secondary.

Seahawks proved against Atlanta it was unwise to go up by less then 4 pts with 30 seconds left in the game in the same situation.

Well, regardless of what would have happened, I think leading the Superbowl with 1:30 left can be considered close to winning it.

We were close to winning the Atlanta game. We didn't win, but we were close.

But I digress.

You guys are right. We are head and shoulders better than them. We are in a totally different league than the defending NFC champs. Anybody who thinks they are even competition for us is crazy like me.

Yes, leading with 1.30 left is coming close to winning. Coming close to leading with 1.30 left is more like "coming close to coming close".We were closer to winning the Atlanta game than SF were to winning the Superbowl because we actually had a leading position with 30 second left

Seahawks GM John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll are keeping the rest of the NFL on its toes. By trading for Harvin and signing defensive end Cliff Avril, Seattle arguably added the two most explosive players to change teams since the transactions period began. The Seahawks now boast dynamic playmakers at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver.

RichNhansom wrote:Rjdriver I don't mean to come off sounding like I am attacking you. Sorry if I did. I recently read a Niner board out of boardom but I won't post on their boards and so many of them are completely ignoring everything and using the Boldin signing as a reason they are better than last year. It's kind of mind numbing to think fans know so little about their own organization and can be so over the top arrogant at the same time.

Here's why the roster "losses" actually make the Niners better from a personnel standpoint. Outside of Goldson and Jean Francois, every player the Niners lost was a liability to the team. Sopoaga was one of the worst rated NT's in the league, Walker had the highest drop rate of any receiver or TE in the league (over 30%), Akers made under 70% of his FG's, Ted Ginn was non-existant as a WR and he single-handledly almost cost the team 3 wins due to fumbles, muffed punts, and a general lack of of ball security, and Moss was the poster child for lack of effort, especially in the playoffs. Every single one of them was inconsistent and unreliable at the position they play, and at their age will only get worse.

The 49ers could have made no trades or moves this offseason and come out a stronger team just from the dead weight they lost. Goldson brought hard hits and splash plays which are difficult to replace, but his coverage skills aren't great, and there's no way he's worth being the highest paid safety in the league. Walker is a solid blocker, but completely unreliable as a pass catcher. So they lost a backup lineman in RJF, and Goldson, a good but overrated safety and purged every bad player on their starting roster other than Donte Whitner.

This obviously doesn't mean anything since the games need to be played, but claiming Niners fans are ignoring the teams' losses is a bit naive. Addition by subtraction. You can point out Boldin/Gore/Justin Smith/Manningham's injuries or age as potentially making them worse, but that's nothing more than speculation at this point.

RichNhansom wrote:Rjdriver I don't mean to come off sounding like I am attacking you. Sorry if I did. I recently read a Niner board out of boardom but I won't post on their boards and so many of them are completely ignoring everything and using the Boldin signing as a reason they are better than last year. It's kind of mind numbing to think fans know so little about their own organization and can be so over the top arrogant at the same time.

Here's why the roster "losses" actually make the Niners better from a personnel standpoint. Outside of Goldson and Jean Francois, every player the Niners lost was a liability to the team. Sopoaga was one of the worst rated NT's in the league, Walker had the highest drop rate of any receiver or TE in the league (over 30%), Akers made under 70% of his FG's, Ted Ginn was non-existant as a WR and he single-handledly almost cost the team 3 wins due to fumbles, muffed punts, and a general lack of of ball security, and Moss was the poster child for lack of effort, especially in the playoffs. Every single one of them was inconsistent and unreliable at the position they play, and at their age will only get worse.

The 49ers could have made no trades or moves this offseason and come out a stronger team just from the dead weight they lost. Goldson brought hard hits and splash plays which are difficult to replace, but his coverage skills aren't great, and there's no way he's worth being the highest paid safety in the league. Walker is a solid blocker, but completely unreliable as a pass catcher. So they lost a backup lineman in RJF, and Goldson, a good but overrated safety and purged every bad player on their starting roster other than Donte Whitner.

This obviously doesn't mean anything since the games need to be played, but claiming Niners fans are ignoring the teams' losses is a bit naive. Addition by subtraction. You can point out Boldin/Gore/Justin Smith/Manningham's injuries or age as potentially making them worse, but that's nothing more than speculation at this point.

Funny I never heard a single complaint about any of them before their release. What players that are still starters on your team are as poor as those guys? Or are we to believe you just coincidentally purged all the rubbish this off season and without those guys in the way everyone else will now make the probowl?

Funny I never heard a single complaint about any of them before their release. What players that are still starters on your team are as poor as those guys? Or are we to believe you just coincidentally purged all the rubbish this off season and without those guys in the way everyone else will now make the probowl?

Thanks for providing an example of what I was referring to.

Funny, I never heard those complains either. What a coincidence.

If you patrolled the boards here over the course of last season, which I'm sure many Niners trolls were (not calling you a troll yet, Disp), you'd notice that Hawks fans knew that Leroy Hill and Marcus Trufant were the guys that most fans felt the team needed to do away with. Both have probably played their last games in a Seahawks uniform. THAT'S addition by subtraction.

What you're doing here would be the equivalent of me saying "I'm glad Jason Jones is gone! He was really a waste of a roster spot and was holding the team back" after Jones went to Detroit. In fact, most Hawks fans were pretty upset about losing Jones because they knew the impact he brought to the defense. Then, we went out and signed Avril and Bennett, Bennett specifically to take Jones' spot. That's a definite upgrade but it doesn't mean that Jones was a bum.

Funny thing is I remember reading about how Randy Moss was going to do all these great things in San Fran, especially after Week 1 in Green Bay, and then it never happened. No surprise here that Moss turned out to be a guy that showed no heart whatsoever.

RichNhansom wrote:rjdriver : "I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses."

All of them? All their loss's? I could see saying he replaces Manningham and would even buy he might be an upgrade but what about Moss? And the fact Crabtree will be the only returning starter from last year.

Delanie walker was used alot in their two TE sets and moved on because he wants to be a starter. Alot of members here wanted him on the hawks. He's not a giant loss in himself but take away Moss and Manningham also and I don't see how Boldin makes it an even swap.

Delanie Walker was a big loss for a backup. He played in over half of the offensive snaps and was crucial to our run blocking game. Might be hard to replace someone so versatile. I don't understand why you take away Manningham? He's on track to be ready for the first game of the season, and he's re-signed.

Kaepernick will only have two guys from last year catching pass's in Crabtree and VD. Boldin's not "that" good. Kaep will also need to learn how to use Boldin. He is not fast but he is strong. If you can place the ball properly Boldin will win most of those battles but it is not as simple as it sounds and unlike Crabtree who gets separation and is visible when he is open, Boldin rely's on the QB to place the ball were he can fight for it. By the way if he is going up against Sherman that ball placement had better be excellent and if he is going up against Browner, please try and let Boldin fight it away from him. That won't work so well. Bowner can out muscle him and Sherman can out maneuver him.

I think the key here is that Boldin came very cheap, and is an immediate upgrade to Moss. He can play most downs, and can also block very well downfield... Something that Moss wasn't really utilized for.

Last time he played against those guys Boldin had two catch's for 22 yards.

Defensively their front 7 was what kept that machine rolling and hid the fact they were pretty weak in the secondary. Now they lost their NT and his back up. Again, might not normally be a big loss but they don't have a replacement on the team right now that can play the NT position. Add in that Justin Smith is coming off injury and is turning 34 in September. Consider whoever they get to play NT will take some time to get familiar with their schemes and how will that effect Justin Smith?

Losing Sopoaga isn't actually as big of a deal as it seems on the surface. He only played in 30% of the defensive snaps last year. As the league goes more and more to the pass, Niners are playing nickel defense more often; and that takes the NT out of the game. RJF (his backup) was starter quality in my opinion, which is why another team snagged him up.

Now figure if that font seven takes a step back, how will that effect the secondary? Then remove the only probowler in the secondary from that equation. How good do you think Boldin is?

The 49ers secondary really isn't as bad as you would think. They do tend to give up a lot of yards, but that happens when teams are forced to pass because they can't run the ball. When the opposing QB routinely has to throw the ball 40 times, he's going to accrue some yardage. One key stat that I think the Niners fared well in last year was not giving up long plays. That shows that the defense really wasn't getting burned. Though they did have a bit of a lapse in the playoffs lol.

Yes they have 14 picks but last year was the first year that Balke was on his own as well as the first year in many he was picking towards the end of the draft. LMJ I think is the only draft pick that seen the field and AJ Jenkins looks like a horrible miss with zero catch's on the year and not being able to beat out even Ted Ginn for playing time.

If they lose Ted Ginn and it is looking like a real possibility, their return game will also take a big hit. LMJ might be able to step in but it is another unknown and most likely a down grade even if he is decent.

Ginn is lost, but honestly he was a wasted roster space because he really only had one purpose.

They just signed a new kicker. Do we just automatically assume he is going to be good? Can he boot it into the endzone on kickoffs? What about consistency or long kicks?

Dawson was actually one of the most accurate kickers last year. I had to research it myself but he appears to be a stud. 7/7 over 50 yards and only 2 misses on the whole year.

Glenn Dorsey might prove to be a good pick up and I am sure they are hoping he is Justin Smith's replacement but again, his track record so far doesn't guarantee success. I was hoping we would make a run at him so I won't lie, I think he has potential but still he is not the answer at NT and even if he does work out, as long as Justin Smith can play, he will be on the field.

Niners have a young player that they've just extended that I think they believe can fill the gap at NT. Ian Williams. We'll have to wait to see how that pans out.

Frank Gore also turns 30 May 14th. That is something that could very possibly come into play also.

I like Boldin but he is not the answer to all the questions they have going right now. They still have many other issues staring them directly in the face.

My comments in technicolor.

But to keep on topic, I don't think I have a problem with the Seahawks being power polled number 1... Of course I think the Niners are better but who cares lol... Power polls are fun for fans, that's why they exist.

60niners wrote:The 49ers secondary really isn't as bad as you would think. They do tend to give up a lot of yards, but that happens when teams are forced to pass because they can't run the ball. When the opposing QB routinely has to throw the ball 40 times, he's going to accrue some yardage. One key stat that I think the Niners fared well in last year was not giving up long plays. That shows that the defense really wasn't getting burned. Though they did have a bit of a lapse in the playoffs lol.

The 49ers defense had 3 more passing attempts against it over the course of the entire season than the Seahawks defense, (567 attempts to 564 attempts) but 407 rushing plays against you, compared to 368 against us. However, your average yards per rushing play was way better. It tells us teams should have passed more against you, but they didn't. They ran more. Congrats on dumb game planning by several teams, I guess?

I would imagine because the coaching staff believed them to be the best option at season start. Same way that 99% of starters get their job other than injury.

RichNhansom wrote:Funny I never heard a single complaint about any of them before their release. What players that are still starters on your team are as poor as those guys? Or are we to believe you just coincidentally purged all the rubbish this off season and without those guys in the way everyone else will now make the probowl?

Thanks for providing an example of what I was referring to.

I'm surprised you never heard. Most Hawks fans I've talked to seem to have at least a rudimentary grasp of the other teams in the division. You've never heard anyone say bad things about them, so you're the perfect person to explain their upside and merits to an ignorant 49ers fan such as myself. I'll list them for you so we can make it easier: Isaac Sopoaga, rated the 78'th best interior lineman by PFF. Delanie Walker, who led all receivers, tight ends, and running backs in drop % for the season, and added an impressive 4 more drops out of 11 targets in the playoffs. David Akers who had the 31'st best field goal accuracy out of 32 players. Ted Ginn who muffed 4 punts out of 18 punt returns and caught 2 balls all season. Randy Moss who averaged less than 2 catches per game.

In your opinion, which of these players, who were all in the bottom 20% league-wide at their respective positions, would you say impacts the 49ers negatively the most by leaving?

Your cherry picking in an attempt to discredit the player but lets say they were all the worst in the history of the sport It doesn't change that they were the best player (walker being best #2) on your team and you don't have an answer for any of them right now.

You can try and belittle my knowledge of your team but at least I am smart enough to understand that when your best player at a position leaves it creates questions that don't have simple answers.

You can also bet these guys actually had good reason why they were the starter and why other teams outbid you.

These guys all left in FA. It's not like your FO said these guys are crap, cut em. Except maybe for Ackers.

Yeah, the whole addition by subtraction argument requires that the replacement be better than the guy you lost. I'll buy that for Akers obviously, and Boldin is a clear upgrade over Moss, but Ginn leaving means an impact on the return game (not saying it's huge), I don't buy Walker as a total bum, and Sopoaga and his backup left. I don't care how bad we're saying Sopoaga was, until we know who the answer at NT is we can't shout "addition by subtraction!!!"

As far as the NT only playing 30% of the snaps, perhaps that percentage changes now because you...don't have a nose tackle.

The Niners are a great team, and I don't think they've been decimated here, the point that's being challenged is that Boldin doesn't erase everything else and so the Niners may have taken a very slight step back depending on whether they can fill the needs with the draft. Lord knows they have plenty of picks to do it in. But as of this very moment, they have some new holes to fill in the draft, that's all.

The Hawks didn't lose anyone of note and added 3 impact players (one high-impact player in Harvin), and the power rankings reflect this.

Now we get to see how the Niners draft. We know Schneider can build a championship caliber roster from scratch in 3 years, we'll see how the Niners do without years and years of first round picks from sucking so hard and underperforming.

RichNhansom wrote:Your cherry picking in an attempt to discredit the player but lets say they were all the worst in the history of the sport It doesn't change that they were the best player (walker being best #2) on your team and you don't have an answer for any of them right now.

So your point boils down to regardless of how poorly a player plays, if they're a starter or backup it's bad to lose them and teams should overpay to keep them. That sounds like a stark contrast to the Seahawks' philosophy seeing how they've flipped almost the entire roster over the past 4 years. What are you basing "you don't have an answer for any of them right now" on? There are young, developing players on the roster at the positions they lost, and they have plenty of draft picks. They may work out and they may not, but the odds are good that they'll be better than the players they replace. They only need to be average to be an improvement.

When a player is on the roster for 1 reason only and performs that duty poorly, that's not cherry picking stats. Moss was brought in for one reason only, to catch balls, and he caught less than 2 a game. Ginn was on the team for one reason only, punt returns, and he fumbled almost 1/4 of the punts he returned. Akers' only role was kicking the ball, and he was 31/32 in the league at field goals. Walker had 2 roles, blocking and receiving. He was a good blocker, but the worst receiver in the league. Sopoaga had a more complex role, but was rated worse than most teams' 2nd and 3rd string interior linemen.

60niners wrote:The 49ers secondary really isn't as bad as you would think. They do tend to give up a lot of yards, but that happens when teams are forced to pass because they can't run the ball. When the opposing QB routinely has to throw the ball 40 times, he's going to accrue some yardage. One key stat that I think the Niners fared well in last year was not giving up long plays. That shows that the defense really wasn't getting burned. Though they did have a bit of a lapse in the playoffs lol.

The 49ers defense had 3 more passing attempts against it over the course of the entire season than the Seahawks defense, (567 attempts to 564 attempts) but 407 rushing plays against you, compared to 368 against us. However, your average yards per rushing play was way better. It tells us teams should have passed more against you, but they didn't. They ran more. Congrats on dumb game planning by several teams, I guess?

I don't actually have any stats to back up that comment, it was just something I remember hearing sometime along nearing the end of the season. Something like they had only given up one passing play over 40 yards up to that point or some such stuff.

As for the rushing attempt totals, i wouldn't be at all surprised if the 40ish attempt difference was made up (maybe 80%ish) from the two extra quarters we played against the Rams. They definitely like to run the ball and... yea.

RichNhansom wrote:Your cherry picking in an attempt to discredit the player but lets say they were all the worst in the history of the sport It doesn't change that they were the best player (walker being best #2) on your team and you don't have an answer for any of them right now.

So your point boils down to regardless of how poorly a player plays, if they're a starter or backup it's bad to lose them and teams should overpay to keep them. That sounds like a stark contrast to the Seahawks' philosophy seeing how they've flipped almost the entire roster over the past 4 years. What are you basing "you don't have an answer for any of them right now" on? There are young, developing players on the roster at the positions they lost, and they have plenty of draft picks. They may work out and they may not, but the odds are good that they'll be better than the players they replace. They only need to be average to be an improvement.

I notice you didn't provide any names for any of these young developing players. Is that because you have no idea who those guys might be? Most Niner fans I've talked to seem to have at least a rudimentary grasp of their own team.

By better than the players they replace, do you mean like Alfed Alonzo was an upgrade? That's AJ Jenkins for those lacking that rudimentary grasp of their team.

Your also placing alot of confidence in this upcoming draft. It's much less likely that even a first rounder will have immediate impact let alone the rest and even if you hit on a good player, they will still have a learning curve to the NFL and your schemes. The odds of you upgrading all positions of need this off season are probably zero but you go on thinking you can just grab new players and they will be better. If that is the case and all these guys are so poor why didn't they upgrade the positions before? Kind of a ridiculous stand point isn't it?

When a player is on the roster for 1 reason only and performs that duty poorly, that's not cherry picking stats. Moss was brought in for one reason only, to catch balls, and he caught less than 2 a game. Ginn was on the team for one reason only, punt returns, and he fumbled almost 1/4 of the punts he returned. Akers' only role was kicking the ball, and he was 31/32 in the league at field goals. Walker had 2 roles, blocking and receiving. He was a good blocker, but the worst receiver in the league. Sopoaga had a more complex role, but was rated worse than most teams' 2nd and 3rd string interior linemen.

Ginn can be a game changer and was against us a couple years ago. Moss was brought in to catch balls but also draw coverage and he did that. Walker will be a starter this year and you didn't just lose Sop you lost his back up too. What about Goldson? Just grab the next pro bowler?

You only have two guys returning that have caught passes from Kaep and Boldin won't be wide open. Kaep will have to learn how to get the ball to him and that means throwing to him when he looks like he is covered. It will also require a great amount of touch and accuracy that has yet to be displayed.

New players means new chemistry and that isn't as simple as you apparently think it is. Your front seven and your secondary are currently weaker than they were last year. There is no debate about that and not even your blind faith can make up for it. You can bury your head in the sand and tell yourself everything will be fine but the reality is, right now you don't have those answers and you are hoping beyond hope that everything works out.

Good luck with your fairy tale. PS I don't think your gonna like the ending.

RichNhansom wrote:rjdriver : "I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses."

My comments in technicolor.

But to keep on topic, I don't think I have a problem with the Seahawks being power polled number 1... Of course I think the Niners are better but who cares lol... Power polls are fun for fans, that's why they exist.

Very good post 60Niner,

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I was reading most of this on my cell on my breaks at work and your technicolor killed me. I couldn't read it at all because of the color. I had to wait till I got home and even then had to highlight the red to see it. Green works real well on .nets blue back ground, for the record but well thought out post.